Earlier this year we heard talk of several planned Windows On ARM tablets that would run the upcoming Windows 8 operating system, and now more planned tablets have emerged. Asus is planning to release four Windows 8 tablets (two WOA versions), and according to Digitimes, Nokia will be joining the fray with their own WOA tablets.

Allegedly, Nokia will launch a 10" ARM tablet powered by Qualcomm's dual core System on a Chip (SoC) processor. The tablet will run the Windows on ARM version of Windows 8, and their sources have expressed that the Nokia tablet will further fuel the mobile tablet market and provide healthy competition for the iPad juggernaut.

Further, according to "sources at upstream component suppliers," Nokia will be outsourcing the manufacturing of their Windows 8 tablet to Compal Electronics. Also, the sources have stated that the first production batch will consist of 200,000 units.

Don't forget to check out our guide on virtualizing Windows 8 to get an idea of how the new interface works. More information on the Windows On ARM front as it develops.

Last year Nokia and Microsoft announced a partner ship that would combine Nokia's hardware with Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system. Back then, the move by Nokia to abandon Maemo, MeeGo, and Symbian was not a popular one; however, it does seem to have worked out well for the company (despite some burned bridges).

According to a new report by Strategy Analytics, not only have Nokia Windows Phone 7 devices proved a popular choice, but the company has managed to propel itself to 33.1% marketshare; a number that makes Nokia the world's largest Windows Phone smartphone vendor in Q4 2011. Further, the company shipped just under 1 million units in Q4 2011 while the market as a whole saw 2.7 million units shipped. That is a significant jump from the previous quarter where Nokia did not ship any units and the market as a whole shipped only 2 million.

Vendor Shipments (Millions) Q3'11

Vendor Shipments (Millions) Q4'11

Vendor Marketshare (%) Q3'11

Vendor Marketshare (%) Q4'11

Nokia

0.0

0.9

0%

33.1%

Others

2.0

1.8

100%

66.9%

Total

2 Million Units

2.7 Million Units

100%

100%

While Nokia does not yet have majority share of the Windows Phone smartphone market all to themselves, they do have the most marketshare of any single vendor. The increased presence of Nokia helped the Windows Phone market as a whole see a total quarter over quarter growth of 36%, according to the report. Further, Director of Strategy Analytics Tom Kang noted that Nokia managed to snag most of it's marketshare from HTC who is also losing ground in the Android market to rival Samsung.

Needless to say, Nokia management and shareholders are likely pleased by this turn of events. It will be interesting to see where Nokia is marketshare wise at the end of this year as their new Lumia series smarphones proliferate across the world. The full report is available here to Strategy Analytics clients.

We reported earlier on the rumored Nokia Lumia 900 (aka Nokia Ace) Windows Phone 7 smart phone. We said that it would basically be the Nokia Lumia 800 only a bit bigger and featuring a LTE modem. The Nokia Lumia 900 is now official and the speculation seems to be correct.

It will be available in either cyan or black colors in the US within the next few months and bound to the AT&T network with "aggressive" pricing. Nokia stated in their conference that it has been working closely with Qualcomm to ensure solid performance on AT&T's LTE network. SIM-free and carrier unlocked phones will also be available; however, it is not clear whether users in the US will be able to purchase them (or if they would need to be imported). Ballmer stated plainly that the "Lumia 900 is a very exciting launch," and that AT&T is critical to the WP7 future. More information on the Nokia Lumia 900 can be found here.

A sexy device it is, but personally I've been burned once by Nokia's other (N)900, so I think I'll stick with Android for the time being.

WebGL is a web standard which attempts to bring the capacities of OpenGL to websites; I will refer to web applications as websites because that is what they are. There were a few WebGL experiments to demonstrate 3D capabilities as well as concepts for sites such as search engines. There is concern over providing that level of functionality to an application, such as a web browser, whose purpose is to routinely accept data from untrusted sources. Microsoft specifically has been outspoken over WebGL which leads to questions about their motives: a harshly learned lesson from ActiveX; or fears that developers will adopt an OpenGL-based standard? Regardless of Microsoft’s intentions, their newfound cellphone partner, Nokia, has just released a 3D mapping system developed in WebGL.

There needs to be a decoder ring for cellphone company drama.

While obviously not an alternative to Google Maps, Nokia’s “Maps 3D WebGL” is quite aesthetically pleasing. Buildings are rendered with quite high detail and perform quite smoothly if you are in one of the zones mapped with 3D building data. You are free to orbit and view the scene from any direction by turning the compass near the bottom of the screen. All in all it is a cool website to show off what the future could encompass when GPUs are allowed to be used for mainstream purposes. Have fun.

Leaks on products that are set to be released at CES are popping up all over the web, and it seems Microsoft's plans for Windows Phone 7 aren't immune. Paul Thurrott claims to be "in the know," in laying out the company's plans for the CES unveil. He says the information he has managed to acquire details the company's plans "for the US market only" and are to be officially revealed at CES 2012.

Microsoft will allegedly be releasing three LTE based Windows Phone 7 smart phones and one Verizon phone throughout the first half of the year. While not LTE powered, Verizon will be getting the Nokia Lumia 710, and will be available beginning April 2012.

Also, the three LTE powered Windows Phone 7 smart phones include the Nokia ACE (a larger version of the Nokia Lumia 800), HTC Radiant, and Samsung Mendel. These three phones will all ship on AT&T before Q2 2012 is over. The Nokia ACE will ship on March 18th, 2012.

Have you played around with any Windows Phone 7 devices? Stay tuned to PC Perspective for more CES news!

According to a blog post over at DGUI, a poster claims to have spoken with a source within the know who told him that the Windows Phone 8 (also known as Windows Phone Apollo) mobile operating system will be released in mid-June 2012. Devices running the OS will start showing up soon after, with Nokia showing off Windows Phone 8 phones as soon as Nokia Connection 2012.

Windows Phone 8? :P

The source further states that Windows Phone 8 will bring support for NFC (near-field communication), dual core processors, larger displays, and bigger phone chassis. In addition to smart phones, the supposed Nokia source claims that the company will also be producing a tablet running Windows 8.

Lastly, the poster states that while the source claims to work for Nokia, the poster cannot verify it and thus this should be taken with a grain of salt. He quoted the alleged industry insider in stating "Hi, I work by Nokia in Helsinki. Nokia will bring Tango fones to CES and MWC. Apollo come in June. Apollo fones at Nokia Connection. Window 8 tablet come in June also. Hope it helps you."

What are your thoughts on this, do you think we'll be seeing Windows 8 and WP8 smart phones this summer?